"The Prodigy" and "Rush" Speak Up

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IGN goes one-on-one with Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn prior to their historic clash at UFC 94.

By Avi Burk

The entire MMA world is buzzing over this weekend's highly anticipated, historic super-fight between UFC Welterweight Champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre and the challenger to his title, UFC Lightweight Champion "The Prodigy" B.J. Penn, as well as UFC's return to the videogame arena this spring, when THQ will release UFC 2009 Undisputed on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Both headliners for UFC 94 have been officially announced as playable characters on the UFC 2009 Undisputed roster, so fight fans can look forward to recreating this epic battle on their home consoles over and over again. IGN caught up with both great champions this Wednesday at the UFC 94 press conference, discussing everything from their strategies and expectations heading into their bout to their thoughts on being in the videogame and which games they most enjoy playing when they're not busy training.

Here's a closer look at both fighters, accompanied by their video interviews from the pre-fight press conference…

Georges "Rush" St. Pierre Georges St. Pierre (GSP), 27, is regarded by most mixed martial arts fans and reporters as one of the top pound-for-pound competitors in the world today. St. Pierre possesses an uncanny combination of elite-level athleticism and phenomenal skill in a variety of fighting disciplines, including: Kyokushin Karate, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), Muay Thai kickboxing, boxing and wrestling.

St. Pierre has compiled an impressive 17-2 record in professional MMA competition, including a controversial split decision victory over his opponent at UFC 94, Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn, in March of 2006. Only two men have ever defeated St. Pierre: Future UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes, who St. Pierre went on to defeat twice, and former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra, who went on to knock out a year later.

In his last fight, St. Pierre put on one of the most dominant showings ever in a UFC title fight, beating Jon Fitch relentlessly for five full rounds to snap the challenger's eight-fight win streak. In that fight St. Pierre was able to land just about everything in his arsenal, from jabs to spinning back fists, leg kicks to spinning roundhouse kicks, and was able to take Fitch down and pass his guard seemingly at will.

Georges St. Pierre is one of the most well rounded fighters in the world today.

St. Pierre stands 5-foot-10 and weighs in at 170 pounds, although many believe that his strength rivals that of fighters who compete two weight classes above him (at 205 pounds). He'll need every bit of that strength in his next fight, should he defeat Penn for a second time, as White has already stated that he'd give St. Pierre an opportunity to face Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and attempt to become the first fighter in the promotion's history to hold titles in two weight classes concurrently (which Penn has the opportunity to do Saturday at UFC 94). Still, before any GSP-Silva super-fight, St. Pierre would have to defend his Welterweight title against top contender Thiago "The Pitbull" Alves (16-3), so the road to holding dual UFC titles won't be an easy one for St. Pierre.